Thomas Hobbes

According to Hobbes, the state of nature is the hypothetical scenario that exists prior to the forming of government. It is a state of “all against all,” in which the law of the jungle prevails. The...

Thomas Hobbes viewed human nature as inherently selfish and driven by competition. He believed that in a state of nature, individuals are in constant conflict over resources, leading to a "war of all...

Thomas Hobbes was largely hostile to the idea of representative government, prioritizing the maintenance of peace and stability over representation. He believed in a strong, absolute sovereign...

Hobbes believed that the sovereign should have complete power over subjects, including control over religion, to prevent any interference from organized churches that could challenge sovereign...

When people came together to form a government, they did so for their own protection from natural forces of greed and ambition. The king as the head of that government was still human and subject to...

According to Hobbes, the laws of nature are the laws of perpetual struggle. In a state of nature, people live in "continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man...[is] solitary,...

Enlightened thinkers stressed the importance of individual freedom and intellectual inquiry. They wanted to improve education and society by calling people to question long-held assumptions about...

This question is a bit tricky, because it is possible to interpret Hobbes's "natural condition of mankind" in different ways. On one interpretation, the natural condition is a state of nature or...

According to Hobbes, people are naturally self-interested and have an egoistic desire to dominate others.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert and Adam Smith proposed different methods for increasing national wealth. Colbert, advocating mercantilism, emphasized government control, promoting exports and restricting...

In Hobbes's theory, the sovereign serves as the ultimate authority and arbiter of disputes, with absolute power to maintain order and prevent chaos. He advocates for absolute monarchy, viewing it as...

The first section of the book deals with a central problem of political philosophy - how to achieve social order and peace.

Thomas Hobbes was a 17th-century English philosopher best known for his work on political philosophy. His most famous work, Leviathan, outlines his belief in a strong central authority to avoid the...

Hobbes's views on human nature, which emphasize self-interest and a tendency towards conflict, contrast with the behavior expected under the feudal manorial system. In feudal society, individuals...